Canada paid for cash-strapped Hungary's fighter pilot training

15 Wing Moose Jaw Second Lieutenant (OF-1) Kenneth Huus Nielsen, student pilot and Captain Jesper Petersen, instructor pilot both from the Royal Danish Air Force during a pre-flight inspection with a CT-156 Harvard II aircraft on 15 Wing Moose Jaw tarmac. This agile turboprop trainer is the aircraft of choice for the early stages of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program. The aircraft is ideally suited to help new pilots move seamlessly from basic flight training to high-performance jet training. 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (2 CFFTS) is the 15 Wing Unit tasked with providing basic flying training. 2 CFFTS trains over 150 NATO pilots every year through the NFTC program.Master Cpl. Pierre Theriault / Canadian Forces Combat Camera

LONDON — Canada has been footing the bill for fighter pilot training for financially strapped Hungary, one of several newer NATO countries that have been struggling to keep up with their wealthier allies.

Hungary couldn’t afford the $9 million a year to send pilots to the NATO Flying Training Centre in Moose Jaw, Sask., according to documents produced by the Department of National Defence and the Royal Canadian Air Force and obtained by the Citizen.

So Canada stepped in with the money to cover training for 2012 and 2013. The DND has also proposed to spend $9 million this year, $10 million in 2015 and $11 million in 2016 to cover Hungary’s pilot training costs, according to the documents.

Hungary has asked Canada to cover the training costs until 2021.

The problems experienced by Hungary, which joined NATO in 1999, show the financial weakness of some of NATO’s newer members. The alliance has significantly expanded over the past decade, bringing a number of Eastern European nations into the fold.

But the military budgets of these countries pale in comparison to the billions of dollars the United States, Britain and even Canada spend.

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Martin Shadwick, a strategic studies professor at York University, said Russian actions in Ukraine have prompted a number of Eastern European nations to look at purchasing new military equipment and improve their air defences.

“The problem is that they don’t have a lot of money to throw around,” said Shadwick. “The question is whether other NATO nations will be called upon to provide those funds.”

U.S. President Barack Obama has already pledged $1 billion in military aid to help fund NATO exercises and provide military aid to non-NATO nations such as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

Ukraine, which also wants to join NATO, has been asking countries such as Canada for contributions of military equipment to help in its fight against Russian-backed separatist rebels.

So far, Canada has contributed $5 million in non-lethal aid, including sleeping bags, first-aid kits and bulletproof vests.

But in a recent interview with the Citizen, Ukraine’s ambassador in Ottawa, Vadym Prystaiko, said his country now needs rifles, armoured vehicles, surveillance equipment and other gear.

Ukraine has also announced plans to spend $3 billion more on its military by 2017. It is unclear where it is going to get that money.

The International Monetary Fund is warning that Ukraine could need as much as $19 billion in emergency funding in the coming months to keep it afloat.

Analysts have noted that it is likely the country will turn to NATO nations for more financial aid and military support.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is currently on a visit to England, will arrive in Wales for the NATO leaders summit starting Thursday.

Alliance leaders will discuss ways to further shore up NATO and provide aid to Ukraine.

The Conservative government has said it is willing to consider more help for Ukraine, both economically and in providing military aid.

The 28-member alliance has expanded over the years to include nations ranging from Albania to Croatia.

Some, such as Bulgaria, which joined in 2004, have faced continued economic hardships.

Even though Bulgaria continued to maintain defence spending at rates the alliance deemed acceptable, its military was less than impressive, noted a 2010 study done for the Association of the United States Army on new NATO members.

“Bulgaria’s past and present economic situation demonstrates that its contributions to NATO will remain limited and in this regard not essential to the alliance,” the report concluded. “This indicates that Bulgaria’s worth as a member lies primarily in its geographical location and in the political symbolism of its commitment to the West.”

Shadwick said some of the newer NATO nations, many which used to be aligned with the Russians, are looking to become recipients of Western military help, including surplus equipment, offers of training or infusions of cash.

The Canadian government offers the flying training at Moose Jaw and Cold Lake, Alta., to NATO and other nations for a fee. Besides Hungary, Denmark, Italy, Singapore and Saudi Arabia have in the past provided students to the program. Finland, Germany, the U.S., Britain and Canada, among other nations, provide instructors.

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